Christmas Movies 2012 – Hobbits, Musicals, and Westerns

November 26, 2012 - By Liam Goodwin

Just as there’s a race to have the number one song in the charts every Christmas, there’s a similar challenge for the top spot of the Christmas movies, especially those aimed at kids. Going to the cinema is somehow even more magical when it’s cold and dark outside and you can spend an hour and a half in warm cinema seats stuffing yourself with popcorn.

This year there are a few good films to choose from. Some are ideal for anyone taking the kids to the movies this Christmas, and there are some that will be an adult only affair.

Christmas Movies 2012

Rise of the Guardians is a computer animated pic that’s already in theatres in the US and is being released in the UK at the end of November, giving it a good long run up to Christmas itself. It’s a great way of getting all those mythical figures from childhood together all in one place. The story sees The Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus and Jack Frost all joining forces to stop the evil Pitch the Boogeyman plunging the world into darkness.

Hugh Jackman plays the part of the Easter Bunny, while Isla Fisher is the Tooth Fairy. Alec Baldwin voices Santa Claus and Chris Pine plays Jack Frost. Jude Law provides the villainous voice of the boogeyman. The film is co-directed by William Joyce, who wrote the Guardians of Childhood books, and Peter Ramsey. For any kids who are beginning to doubt these mythical figures’ existence, it should bolster up their faith for a year or two longer!

The much anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey will have its UK premiere on 12 December, and will be on general release in the UK and US from 14 December. This is Tolkien’s children’s novel adapted for the big screen, and we see a return of some cast members from The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Martin Freeman stars as Bilbo Baggins, who is cajoled into going off to help save the Dwarves’ treasure from the clutches of the dragon, Smaug. Obviously not a great choice for very young children, but anyone over the age of nine or ten should be able to handle it!

Les Misérables opens on Christmas Day in the US and January 11th in the UK. The movie is an adaptation of the classic novel and Broadway musical set in 19th-century France which has Tom Hooper (The King’s Speech) directing, and a large ensemble cast including Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Helena Bonham Carter, Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, and Sacha Baron Cohen. The musical has been seen by over 53 million people in 38 countries and 21 languages so expect a wave of success at the box office, and if early reviews are anything to go by there’ll be some awards recognition in the near future.

Django Unchained is unlikely to entertain families this Christmas (they won’t be allowed in) but it’s an alternative choice if you’re after a gun-filled western from director Quentin Tarantino on Christmas Day. Cinema listings Edinburgh have the UK release for January 18th, so the UK will have to wait a little longer. The movie stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Kerry Washington, Jonah Hill and Samuel L. Jackson, and follows Django (Foxx) a freed slave, who, under the tutelage of a German bounty hunter (Waltz) becomes a bad-ass bounty hunter himself.